The San Diego Padres, minor league affiliates, went 1-3 on Friday.

Here is a recap of the day’s events.

El Paso Chihuahuas (Lost 8-3 to Albuquerque) (5-8 on the season)

Jake Sanchez: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (33 pitches, 20 strikes)

Jantzen Witte: (2-for-3), 3B, RBI, BB, SB

Luis Liberato: (2-for-3), 2B, RBI, BB, K

Pedro Severino: (2-for-3), 2 R, BB, K

The El Paso Chihuahuas fell in blowout fashion on Friday night, with most of the drama coming in the first inning. El Paso starter Anderson Espinoza worked a scoreless inning, but he was ejected after a foreign substance check. He served a 10-game suspension for the same reason in 2021 when he was in Fort Wayne.

Espinoza’s replacement was Angel Sanchez, who struggled, surrendering six runs in his three innings of work. That put El Paso way behind the eight ball, and they never climbed out of their hole. The bottom of their order did step up, with the 7-8-9 hitters going 6-for-9 with two walks in the game. However, the rest of the Chihuahuas finished 3-for-26, which doomed El Paso to another early season loss. 

San Antonio Missions (Lost 7-0 to Frisco) (2-5 on the season)

Duncan Snider: 3.1 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 3 K (71 pitches, 40 strikes)

Justin Lopez: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K (34 pitches, 16 strikes)

Juan Fernandez: (1-for-2), BB

Connor Hollis: (0-for-3), BB, SB

San Antonio’s offense was absent in their loss to Frisco, recording just three hits, all of which were singles. The Roughriders jumped on Duncan Snider, who surrendered four runs in his first two innings of work. That would’ve been more than enough of a cushion for Frisco starter Nick Krauth, who cruised through five innings of one-hit ball.

Tirso Ornelas, who walked twice, and Juan Fernandez were the only Missions players who found themselves aboard multiple times in the game. Frisco added three more runs in the seventh off Lake Bachar, putting the game beyond any doubt.

Fort Wayne TinCaps (Lost 10-4 to Lake County) (1-6 on the season)

Victor Lizarraga: 4 IP, 3 H, 2 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 2 K (53 pitches, 32 strikes)

Lucas Dunn: (3-for-4), 3B, 2B, RBI, 2 R, K

Joshua Mears: (2-for-4), 2B, 2 RBI, K

Nathan Martorella: (1-for-3), RBI, BB

Fort Wayne’s bullpen unraveled in the late innings, turning a competitive game into a rout. Victor Lizarraga worked the first four innings for the TinCaps with a fair amount of success. He did allow two runs, but only one of them was earned. He actually left the game with the lead, as doubles from Lucas Dunn and Joshua Mears powered Fort Wayne into a 3-2 lead. They extended their lead in the fifth when Nathan Martorella brought Jackson Merrill home.

Jackson Merrill with a nice defensive play, showing his hops. #Padres pic.twitter.com/2bybEgxhGt

— James E. Clark 3 (@EVT_JClark) April 15, 2023

However, Lake County scored five runs on Keegan Collett, who recorded just one out. That put Fort Wayne down by four runs, which was more than what they could produce. It was a big day for Lucas Dunn, who came just a home run short of the cycle, while Joshua Mears had a pair of hits. 

Lake Elsinore Storm (Won 3-1 vs. Inland Empire) (6-0 on the season)

Dwayne Matos: 4.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (36 pitches, 27 strikes)

Fernando Sanchez: 3.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K (60 pitches, 38 strikes)

Rosman Verdugo: (1-for-4), 3B, 3 RBI, K

Albert Fabian: (1-for-4), R

An eighth-inning triple from Rosman Verdugo cleared the bases, giving Lake Elsinore their sixth straight win to start their season. It was a struggle on offense for the Storm, who had just five hits, but they found a way. Fernando Sanchez gave up Inland Empire’s only run of the night, but he did strike out six batters in 3.2 solid frames.

Dwayne Matos was even better, working 4.1 innings of one-hit baseball. He didn’t walk any hitters either, which was absolutely fantastic. Verdugo’s triple came with two outs in the inning, saving the day for the Storm. 

Tomorrow’s Probables

El Paso: Julio Teheran (1-1, 3.48 ERA)

San Antonio: Brian Gonzalez (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Fort Wayne: Adam Mazur (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Lake Elsinore: TBD

Sam Evans

Sam is a Senior in High School. He has been writing for three years, and started at EVT in June of 2021. He’s headed to Syracuse’s Newhouse School of Communications in the fall of 2023.